p63 in Squamous Differentiation and Cancer

Abstract

Genes that are important for normal development and differentiation of tissues are often deregulated in cancers that originate from that tissue. An example of a gene that is both required for normal skin development and differentiation, and which is deregulated during tumorigenesis is the transcription factor p63. During epidermal development and in postnatal epidermis, p63 controls various processes including basement membrane formation, keratinocyte adhesion, terminal differentiation, and barrier formation. When p63 expression is deregulated, these processes do not occur normally, resulting in oncogenic transformation. In this chapter, we will review the role of p63 in normal epidermal development and differentiation, as well as the role of deregulated p63 expression in skin cancer.